Black Tie
by InFabula
Summary: Set after Hogwarts, an Evans family party to which the Marauders are invited. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

-1BLACK TIE by InFabula

Disclaimer: JK owns all these wonderful characters; I just borrowed them for a bit.

He almost had it! Brows furrowed in concentration, Remus stared at the image in the mirror. Nearly…nearly…

Then the hotel bedroom door was flung open and he threw his hands in the air in exasperation. Standing in the doorway was Sirius, suave, debonair and smug in the knowledge that _his_ bow-tie was tied to perfection.

"Hurry up, Moony, or we're going to be really late as opposed to fashionably late." He closed the door and leaned against the wall, watching Remus's battle with the offending piece of neckwear with amusement.

"I-can't-get-it…enough!" Remus sprang up and started hunting through his robes which were strewn across one of the twin beds. "Where's my wand?"

"No magic!" Sirius was across the room in a second. He decided to take pity on him. "Here, let me look. Hold still."

Remus held still.

"Chin up," he instructed then frowned. "Mate, what did this bow-tie ever do to you?"

Finally unravelling the series of knots, he started to re-tie it and then stopped. "I can't do this back to front," he confessed. "Sit back in the chair in front of the mirror."

Remus did as he was told. Sirius reached round his neck and with a few expert moves, the bow-tie was in place.

He rested his chin on the top of Remus's head. "Not bad, Moony," he said, casting an appraising eye over the reflection. "You scrub up quite well you know."

Remus ignored him. "Tell me again how much all this cost," he waved a hand generally around the room.

"I've told you already, next to nothing. The hire of the evening wear was something miniscule and as for the room, well, you pay the one rate whether it's two people in it or one."

Sirius had on his most innocent expression: Remus's eyes narrowed. Some lies, some truth, he concluded. Probably the story about the room was correct but he doubted whether the clothes had come cheaply; Sirius would never have hired them if they had. He made a mental note to leave some more Galleons in Sirius's robes.

"You don't mind, do you?" Sirius suddenly straightened up, looking worried. "About the room, I mean? Did you want some privacy - I didn't even think -"

"Padfoot, I shared a dormitory with you for seven years. I don't think we have any secrets left, do we?"

"I guess not," Sirius looked relieved. "I thought it would be an adventure - a bit of fun."

Like a big kid who never grew up, Remus thought with wry affection. He picked up the two gilt-edged invitations from the dressing-table.

"What does RSVP mean?" he asked.

"It's a misprint," Sirius declared. "It should say "RSJP" - "Remus, Sirius, James and Peter"."

"In other words, you don't know either. Remind me why we're going again?"

Sirius gave a sigh. This was old ground. "Lily's grandmother and grandfather have been manacled in marriage for sixty years. That's not bad going for wizards but for Muggles it's definite cause for celebration. They're throwing a big party for their family and friends and James wants moral support."

"Well, he's got you for that, what am I doing there?"

"You're _my_ moral support."

"I won't disagree your morals need all the support they can get, Padfoot, but why can't Peter go?"

Sirius raised his eyes heavenwards. "He is going, Moony. James and Lily invited all three of us. Peter's girlfriend's got Muggle parents, remember, and they're staying with them. What's the problem?"

"I just-I don't….I just don't!" Parties were the province of James, a natural mingler and the charismatic Sirius: even Peter was able to manage small talk successfully. Instinctively cautious, Remus found large social gatherings a personal hell.

"Look, no one there knows we're wizards apart from Lily's parents and they don't know about the wolf. How long is it till the full moon anyway?"

"Two weeks," Remus admitted with reluctance. "Alright, alright. I'm ready."

He stood up and looked at himself in a full-length mirror. Sirius followed him over and threw an arm around his shoulder. Remus wondered for the hundredth time how Sirius managed to make any clothes look wonderful: innate style, James had said long ago.

"Moony, old man," Sirius said admiringly, "you look almost as handsome as me. I may have to ask you for the first dance."

Remus looked horrified. "Dance? You never said anything about a dance!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: JK owns all these wonderful characters; I just borrowed them for a bit.

The short taxi ride was an experience in itself and one which they might have appreciated more fully had Sirius not spent it convincing Remus he had been joking about the dancing. As they left the taxi and walked up the steps to the party, music wafted out and Remus knew he had been had once again.

Mr and Mrs Evans had hired an impressive venue. White marble steps in front of the grand house led up into a large entrance hall hung with modern art. Remus turned his head on one side trying to make out the subject of a painting. It seemed to be a woman in blue with only one eye and half a body. He was suddenly very grateful that Muggle portraits were not alive in the way wizard ones were.

"Padfoot! Moony!" James came hurtling through a side-door to welcome his friends. Dressed in cream, Lily, his wife, followed at a discreet distance, allowing her husband time to go through the whole back-slapping, arm-punching ritual that seemed to accompany every reunion with Sirius and the others.

When she did join them, they both gave her a respectful kiss on the cheek by way of greeting.

She laughed. "I'm married - not a nun!"

In answer, Sirius enveloped her in a bear-hug and when he had released her, Remus followed with a more gentle embrace.

"Is Wormtail here?" Sirius asked eagerly. It had been three months since the wedding and the first time all four Marauders would be back together.

"No, not yet," James said and he frowned. "One thing Peter's good at is being reliably unreliable."

"Well, he'll come if he said he would," Remus volunteered. "He always does."

"Yeah, I know," James sighed, ruffling his hair up at the back. "Just that Peter's idea of time isn't the same as anyone else's. Anyway, you two are hardly punctual."

"Slight sartorial argument," Sirius provided by way of excuse.

James looked from one to the other and broke into a grin. "Moony couldn't manage his bow-tie, could he?"

"You haven't missed much," Lily said quickly. "We're about to toast Granny and Grandad and then they're disappearing and the party's going on. Come outside, we've got tables and a band…"

"And food and drink - you have to try the punch - it's an age-old Evans recipe…" James added. "We've got to circulate, I'm afraid. One of the hazards of being the newest family newly-weds. But find yourselves a table and we'll catch up with you."

Sirius and Remus walked out through French windows on to a large terrace. Straight ahead of them was a brightly-lit large wooden dance-floor with accompanying orchestra. Scattered around were tables and chairs interspersed with lighting, statues, shrubs and foliage. At a rough estimate, there appeared to be over a hundred people present.

"Excellent!" Sirius announced, taking in the party with a practiced eye. "C'mon, Moony, I've spotted a first-rate table."

What made it first-rate was not immediately apparent. It had a good view of the dance-floor, certainly, but it was small and tucked in between two large potted hydrangeas. It was not until Remus sat down that he saw its main advantage: it was less than ten yards away from a table full of refreshments.

"What do you want to drink?" Sirius asked.

"Water," said Remus firmly. He had spent evenings with Sirius before.

"That's not a drink, that's a bodily fluid."

Remus tried to think of something non-alcoholic apart from Butterbeer which he doubted was on offer. "Orange juice," he said finally.

Sirius shook his head sorrowfully. "Where did I go wrong with your education?"

He disappeared and reappeared with a drink for himself - "Scotch on the rocks" he informed Remus - who looked long and hard for the rocks - and for Remus, a glass of what seemed to be orange juice but which definitely had a kick in it.

"Muggle orange juice," Sirius said airily in answer to the suspicious look Remus gave him.

The music fell silent and the couple in whose honour the party was being held, walked up to the microphone.

"Our family, our friends," the silver-haired man began. "It means so much to us that you are all here to celebrate with us. Some of you we don't know very well."

"Or at all!" Sirius snorted. Remus kicked him under the table.

"But we are happy that you have bothered to come along tonight to join us."

The speech continued, simple and heart-felt and Sirius's asides grew less frequent till he was sitting in perfect silence, listening to Lily's grandfather explain how much his marriage had meant to him. When he finished, Sirius leapt to his feet, clapping and others followed his lead.

"You seemed quite touched - one might even say moved, Padfoot," Remus teased, as they took their seats again following the toast.

"Nonsense!" Sirius denied, then paused. "Well, it's just they're soul-mates, aren't they? I fully expect James and Lily will end up like that - together for years and years with loads of kids around them."

"Not a life you'd want then?" Remus said softly: he had heard the wistful note in Sirius's voice.

"Nah…maybe…if the right person came along…" He dropped into pensive silence then shook himself, aware that he had become serious as opposed to Sirius. "What about you, Moony?"

Remus smiled. "Oh, I can see the personal ad in the _Daily Prophet_ now. 'Werewolf seeks understanding partner for love, fun and fulfilment. Respondents must be able to cope with locking loved one away in padded cell once a month.'" He laughed. "I think I'm destined to be one of life's loners."

Sirius had not joined in the laughter: instead he was giving Remus an intense, searching stare.

"Why do you always do that, Moony? Put yourself down like that?" he said.

"Padfoot, old friend, I'm just being realistic," Remus explained. "There's not many people who are going to want to be with someone who turns into a fully-fledged monster once a month, are there?"

"Better once a month than all the time," Sirius muttered darkly and fell silent.

Remus opened his mouth to say something and shut it again. He knew Sirius was thinking about his family, a subject he rarely talked about. James had dropped heavy hints of how black Sirius's upbringing had been and on the few occasions where Sirius had let his guard down as far as his childhood was concerned, Remus had sensed the passionate anger smouldering within him.

As much to break the awkward silence as anything, he suggested they sample the punch to see if it merited its reputation. Sirius nodded and flashed Remus a quick smile of gratitude, acknowledging his tact.

Remus had helped himself to two glasses of the famous punch when a high-pitched voice behind him said: "I know what you are, you know."

Remus turned, glass in either hand and was confronted by a tall, thin girl in a long-sleeved lilac dress.

"You do?" His eyebrows shot up.

"Of course, I know. " The tone was vaguely disapproving. "You went to school with Lily and James, didn't you? I've seen you in the photographs. I'm Petunia, Lily's sister."

"Petunia…" Remus nodded to himself. He had always imagined a miniature Lily, still with long red hair and green eyes. The reality was somewhat different. Lily had spoken little about her sister except to say that she had no magical powers and was suspicious of those who had: to Remus's mixed relief and alarm, she did not seem hostile, quite the opposite.

"It's an awful name," Petunia sighed. "My mother's fault - she's such a keen gardener. I suppose it could be worse. I could have been called Antirrhinum." She gave a little laugh which suggested this was a joke she made often. "What's yours?"

"Er - Remus. Remus Lupin."

"Lupin! Why, you've got a flower name too! Remus Lupin," Petunia rolled the words around her tongue. "Not bad, I suppose. What do your friends call you?"

"Moony," he replied, caught off-guard by the question.

She frowned. "What on earth for?"

His mind went blank. "Because I change into a werewolf under the full moon once a month" did not seem a wise answer. He was saved by the arrival of a belligerent young man who was as round as Petunia was thin.

"Petunia, my dear, is this man bothering you?"

"Ooh, Vernon, no!" Petunia giggled, throwing Remus a coy look which to his horror he correctly interpreted as a wish that he might start to bother her. "This is a school-friend of Lily and James. Vernon, this is Remus Lupin; Remus, this is Vernon Dursley, my fiancé." There was a slight emphasis on the last word.

"Pleased to meet you," Remus said hurriedly, trying to skirt round the pair and back to Sirius and safety.

Vernon grunted. He pushed past Petunia and backed Remus further into the corner. "Just know this, Lupping, Petunia is spoken for. One day very soon now, she's going to be Mrs Vernon Dursley. Don't go getting any ideas."

Remus briefly thought about setting the record straight but he could smell the alcohol on Vernon's breath and decided humouring him would be the best tactic. He shook his head vigorously. "I certainly won't, Vernon. Mr Dursley."

Bellicosity died in Vernon's eyes and he seemed a little disappointed that he did not have to make his point more forcefully. "On your way, Lupworth."

Edging round Vernon, still clutching the punch, Remus made it back to the table where he found Sirius fully recovered from his maudlin mood and grinning from ear to ear, having witnessed everything.

"Chatting up someone else's girl, Moony, not a good idea."

Remus threw him a dark look. "I can assure you I was not the one doing the chatting. That's Lily's sister."

"The fair Petunia," Sirius let out a low whistle. "I can't believe that's who we fantasised about meeting. Did she say why she didn't come to James and Lily's wedding?"

"No, but I don't think your theory about the model shoot holds up."

"Who's the big bloke with her? The one who looks like he was stuffed into his suit?"

"Over-protective fiancé. Goes by the name of Vernon Dursley."

"Mmm," Sirius's eyes were bright with mischief.

"You are not to bait Vernon or my sister, do you hear me, Sirius Black?"

They both looked up to see a mock-angry Lily with James by her side.

"As if!" Sirius looked offended but his wide grin belied his expression. "Relatives and future relatives out of bounds, then, Prongs?"

"Not as far as I'm concerned," James said decisively, flopping into a seat.

"Come on, Remus," Lily pulled him to his feet and in the general direction of the music. "I don't think I want to hear this."

"I don't-"

"Dance." Lily finished as they moved amongst the other couples. "You're a big liar, Remus J Lupin. I remember the fourth year Yule Ball at Hogwarts very clearly."

Remus's face crinkled into a smile at the memory. "Sirius taught us all how to dance. And you chose all of us as partners except James. He didn't speak to us for nearly a week afterwards, you know."

They danced on, lost in fond reminiscence.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Firstly, a nod to the wonderful "Withnail and I" for inspiring one part of this final chapter. Those of you who know the film will spot the reference. Secondly, I appear to go wildly AU towards the end. I will explain later.

Disclaimer: these wonderful characters belong to JK: I just borrowed them for a bit

Sirius had manoeuvred a plate of food piled precariously high safely on to the table and was sitting watching the world go by with James.

"She's a very beautiful person," Sirius nodded towards Lily as he chewed a vol-au-vent. "And you're a very lucky bloke. Just keep praying she doesn't come to her senses and dumps you."

"You've been saying that since Lily and I started dating," James said drily.

"Don't you ever take her for granted, Potter," Sirius warned sternly.

James smiled and let his eyes wander round the party.

"Hard to believe, isn't it? The happy innocence on show here and back in the real world…" He left the thought dangling.

"Enough of that, I promised Moony we wouldn't talk shop tonight."

"I'm not Moony." He paused, then made up his mind to speak. "Padfoot, do you remember my Great-Aunt Violet at the wedding?"

Startled by the non-sequitur, Sirius thought for a moment then nodded. "Think so. Batty old bird who brought her knitting?"

"That's her," a grin flitted across James's face and disappeared. "We were showing her our wedding photos the other week and there was one of Lily and me with you and Peter and Remus."

"Yeah, I know the one."

James hesitated. "The thing is, Padfoot, Great-Aunt Violet is supposed to have Seer blood."

Sirius rolled his eyes: Divination was not a subject he treated with any degree of solemnity.

Ignoring him, James continued: "She looked at that picture and she said "Treachery, deceit and treachery! Death will come through the hand of a friend!""

"Well, don't invite her round for Christmas, will you? She sounds like a right bundle of fun."

"I'm not saying I believed her…Lily just laughed it off, too…but for the first time it made me think that we might not all get through this, Sirius. What if I lose Lily? What if Peter dies or Remus is killed? Suppose this is the last happy memory we have together?"

Sirius was silent for a moment then leaned forward. "James, we know what we're doing is right, don't we?"

James nodded.

"So if we fall," Sirius went on, "it'll be for something we believe in. And whoever's left will look after each other. It's as simple as that and you know it. There's no point in dwelling on what might be: all we can do is live each day as if it's our last."

He stood up.

"So, Prongs, with that in mind, I insist you introduce me to other female members of the Evans family circle. I feel I can say with all sincerity that Lily is the prettiest girl here but I do want to do my homework. Besides, I've been here for over half-an-hour and I haven't kissed anyone yet."

James shook his head in amusement and dutifully led Sirius off.

Meanwhile, a slow waltz had struck up and as they danced, Lily said softly: "Is it as bad as you thought?"

Remus looked startled at the blunt question.

"I know you, Remus," she continued. "As a Marauder you're every bit as confident, witty and charming as the others. Put you in a room with more than twenty people and you can't wait to leave."

"It's OK, actually," he confessed. "You're right, I thought I'd hate it but it's been good to see Sirius and James again. And Peter if he ever turns up. It's funny but I really miss them."

"Naturally, after seven years together."

"I guess. When we do meet up, it's like we've never been apart."

"I'd say that's the sign of a friendship built to last," she smiled.

He smiled back.

"Where are you staying?"

"Some hotel close by. Sirius's idea of course."

"Of course. Let me guess, twin room?"

"How did you know?"

"Idiot! Sirius misses you just as much. I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't decorated it in Gryffindor colours and laid in stocks of Honeydukes chocolate."

Remus gave a laugh. "I did notice a large bag of Chocolate Frogs, " he admitted.

Lily did not smile. "That's why we're fighting, isn't it?" she said.

"Chocolate Frogs?" He tried to keep the conversation light.

"For love and friendship. Dumbledore says they're the two most powerful things in the universe and that's why we'll win."

He looked into the green eyes and thought briefly of the horrors stacked against them. He gave a sigh. "Dumbledore's never been wrong yet," he said slowly. "I just can't help thinking that the worse is to come. I hope when it does, love and friendship are enough."

"What do you mean?" Lily looked puzzled.

He paused for a moment. "This isn't really a topic for discussion at a party, Lily. I said to Sirius that we wouldn't discuss-"

"Remus!"

"Alright," he sighed again. "Look, I can't dance and talk."

He pulled her to one side of the dance-floor and continued. "It's just that the other side have formidable resource - I'm not talking just about numbers, I'm talking about the wealth to back them and the momentum…I just worry that there will be those who find that too hard to resist. And if we start to crumble…it'll be like a dam collapsing…" He broke off.

"Have you talked this over with Sirius and the others?" Lily asked, frowning.

"No. Its just me…don't say anything, Lily. I shouldn't have said anything to you. Especially not tonight. Not here." He gave her a smile.

She gave him a searching glance and then nodded. He was right. Time enough tomorrow to worry.

"Eat, drink and be merry, is that the idea?" she said lightly.

He led her back on to the dance floor. "You've been talking to Sirius," he replied.

Eventually, James reclaimed his wife and Remus made his way back to the table where Sirius had collected a plateful of egg sandwiches for him to eat.

He had devoured three of these and was enjoying the punch when he noticed Sirius, who appeared in high spirits, playing with a small, empty crystal bottle.

"What's that?"

Sirius looked sly. "Something to liven any party up. A love-philtre."

Remus choked on his drink and placed the glass hastily on the table.

"Oh, I haven't given you any." Sirius waved an impatient hand.

"Who _have_ you given it to?"

"A strapping young lady called Marjorie who hauled me up for a dance. Awfully fond of dogs. Look."

Apprehensively, Remus looked in the general direction indicated, failing to notice as he did so that Sirius had ducked behind one of the hydrangeas. A large girl, squeezed into a bright orange dress which was at least two sizes too tight, was downing a champagne cocktail. As she did so, Sirius let out a piercing whistle which made Remus jump and she threw a glance over towards the table. Then she pushed the glass into the hand of the girl she had been chatting to and strode purposefully over.

Remus turned back to Sirius in a panic. "What does that love-philtre do?" he hissed.

Sirius came out from behind the foliage, smiled beatifically and shrugged. "Makes you fall for the first person of the opposite sex you see."

A large hand clapped Remus on the shoulder and he looked up into Marjorie. She blocked out the rest of the room with ease.

"Saw you from afar, what." She said in a loud voice.

"What?" Remus repeated, bewildered.

"Thought there's a young fella who'd show a girl a good time on the dance-floor."

"Oh, I don't dance-" he began.

"Rubbish!" she snorted. "Of course you do." She gripped his wrist in her massive grasp and pulled him on to his feet.

As she whisked him on to the dance-floor, he could see Sirius crying with laughter over her shoulder and promised himself that vengeance would be swift and sweet.

He extracted himself after three dances and an interminable discussion about dog-breeding.

Returning to the table, he unleashed a scowl at Sirius. "Not funny!"

"No," Sirius agreed. "Bloody hilarious, mate! Don't worry, it's not permanent. Another couple of hours she'll have forgotten all about you."

Remus picked up his drink and winced. Marjorie had not been gentle with him. He looked up again at Sirius ready to continue complaining but the words died on his lips. Sirius was staring intently at the sky.

Twisting in his chair to follow Sirius's gaze, Remus saw a solitary brown owl hovering over the party. Some of the other guests had noticed it too but were oblivious to its significance. Suddenly it flew down on the far side of the party.

Sirius and Remus were on their feet immediately and started to make their way to where it had landed. They were met halfway across the dance floor by James.

"Is it from Dumbledore?" Sirius asked.

James shook his head and grinned. "Try Peter."

"Peter?" Remus's eyebrows shot up. "That's not his owl. Is he OK?"

"See for yourself."

James held out the message the owl had brought. It was the party invitation. Scrawled on the back was the message:

"Lily, please send Rowan."

Rowan was Lily's owl. Strong and capable, he was also to be trusted to carry Peter when he had transformed into Wormtail.

"Is he hurt? Captured?" Sirius wanted to know.

In answer, James turned the invitation over: on the back was written:

"PS Not stupefied, just stranded."

"Lily's gone to send Rowan off. I think we should wait for Peter inside. There's a little study with a window - where Lily and I were when you arrived - it'll be more discreet."

He did not have to add that a rat transforming into a party-guest would draw unusual comment.

The three of them set off towards the house. As they neared the main terrace, Sirius became aware that Remus was no longer with them.

He turned and saw Remus doing a dance of sorts with Vernon Dursley as he tried to move round him and catch up with the others. Vernon seemed determined not to let him pass.

James turned also and started to go back but Sirius stopped him.

"Relatives and future relatives, remember. Leave it to me, Prongs," he said and backtracked.

Vernon's behaviour was as aggressive as ever. A small semi-circle of interested guests including, Sirius noted, Petunia and Marjorie were looking on.

"Now, look, Lupkin, you don't want to make an enemy of me," Vernon was saying.

Remus protested his innocence. "I promise you, Vernon - Mr Dursley - I haven't said a word to Petunia - I mean, Miss Evans!"

"That's as may be, but I understand you've been carrying on with my sister."

"Sister?" Remus said weakly.

"My sister, Marge. Well, man-to-man I can understand that - she's an attractive girl, 'spect you got a bit carried away in the heat of the moment - but I won't have her affections trifled with!"

Vernon pulled back his fist.

Remus froze. His fingers itched towards his wand and away again. He could not use magic, not here and while he felt he could acquit himself quite well in a fight with Vernon - hadn't he been in similar fights all his life? - he did not want Lily's family party spoilt. There was nothing for it. He was going to have to let Vernon punch him. He half-closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to land.

"Vernon, old chap," Sirius stepped in front of Remus and skilfully took hold of Vernon's arm, leading him to one side. "I wouldn't worry about Lupkin here." He whispered in Vernon's ear.

Remus could see Vernon's eyes grow wider and rounder than he would have thought possible.

"Marjorie! Petunia!" he summoned. "We're leaving!"

As the three of them departed, Remus shot Sirius a look of intense distrust. "What did you say?"

Sirius shrugged. "Something expedient. It worked, didn't it?"

They hurried back to James and as they reached him, Remus noticed the owl which had brought the message was now sitting on the shoulder of a nearby statue, trembling. Because it was a wild owl, he knew Peter would have had to use some strong magic to instruct it to find Lily. Obviously, it was still recovering.

"Look, it's still coming round," he pointed it out to the others. "You two go on. I'll make sure the rest of the enchantment's lifted and then I'll come and find you."

Having dealt with the owl, which flew off gratefully, Remus moved quickly through the entrance hall heading straight for the little side-door he had seen James and Lily emerge from earlier in the evening.

Too late, he saw that Vernon, Petunia and Marge were standing in front of the strange painting of the blue woman, no doubt waiting for a taxi.

"Miss Evans, Miss Dursley, Mr Dursley," he acknowledged politely.

Petunia and Marjorie turned their heads: Vernon threw him a look of supreme disgust. "On your way, Lupsmith, we don't mix with your sort," he said.

Remus froze, his hackles rising. Forget about being on his best behaviour, he told himself. He turned and marched purposefully towards Vernon who backed straight through Marge and Petunia into the painting.

"And what exactly would my sort be, Vernon?" he snapped.

Vernon swallowed. Like most bullies, he could not handle someone standing up for themselves. This thin, rather wiry chap had looked an easy target, he thought but there was no getting away from the fierce glint in his eye and the determined set of his jaw.

"Er- well, your sort…you know…er…"

Remus didn't. Wizards? Werewolves? What exactly had Sirius said. He held Vernon's gaze without blinking: Vernon lasted three seconds before wilting under pressure.

The door to the study was flung open and an incensed Remus entered, slamming the door behind him.

"How dare you!" He was shaking with rage. "Sirius, how dare you tell Vernon Dursley I'm besotted with you! Shut up, Prongs!"

James had dissolved into unhelpful fits of laughter.

Sirius was trying very hard to keep the grin off his face but failing miserably.

"Look, did it save you from the awful Vernon, Petunia and Marjorie otherwise known as a fist in the face and two fates worse than death?"

"I suppose." Remus still looked furious.

"Well, then." He sobered up a little. "You're never going to have to meet those people again, is he, Prongs?"

"No," James supplied promptly. "Probably not," he qualified.

"So, relax."

"This is not over!" Remus's mouth was set in a grim line. He turned on his heel and left, treating the door with as much consideration as he had on his entrance.

"He's really quite upset, mate."

"Yeah. Don't let him know I told Vernon it was unrequited, will you?"

Some ten minutes later when Remus had still not returned, Sirius went in search of him. He found him at one end of the long terrace, on his own, glowering at the party.

"Oh, Remus…" Sirius tried to explain. "I didn't want him to hit you. I just said something to distract him. "

Remus snorted.

"It was just a…look, I didn't mean to hurt you, Moony."

The retort was there on his lips. He almost said it: _"No, you never do, do you?"_ but as the words formed on his tongue, he could imagine Sirius's eyes; the "I'm still not forgiven, am I?" look followed by the resignation and the guilt.

And in fact, it was a lie. He _had _forgiven Sirius for the incident with Snape. Not forgotten it, of course; he doubted he would ever do that. The truth remained: Sirius was one of his best friends and best friends forgave each other everything.

His anger died in an instant. Instead, he gave a quiet laugh which made Sirius's eyebrows shoot up.

"What…?"

Remus turned to him, his lips twitching into a smile. "I was wondering which Vernon would find more unpalatable: the thought of me fancying you or the fact that I'm a werewolf."

Sirius grinned. "Both equally objectionable concepts, no doubt."

"Look," Remus suddenly pointed. Rowan had returned.

They entered the study in time to see Rowan land at Lily's feet and deposit a large rat on the floor.

James shot the pair of them a quick glance, glad to see that they had made it up, then turned his attention back to the rat.

The shape on the floor grew larger, erupting into Peter, who looked flustered but unharmed. He pulled his evening jacket straight and threw a quick glance in the mirror to smooth his hair. Remus smiled to himself; all these years of hanging around with Sirius and James were bound to have some sort of effect.

"So spill, Wormtail," James instructed. "What was the emergency?"

"Clytemnestra and I have split up." Peter announced dramatically.

"Clytem- You told me her name was Nessie!" Sirius spluttered.

"Nessie-short-for-Clytemnestra." Peter said in an impatient manner which suggested this was not the first time he had had to provide this explanation. "We were driving through the countryside to get here, we had a huge row and she left me in the middle of nowhere. Thank goodness I found that owl or I'd still be there."

He shot an anxious look at the Potters. "Lily, James, I'm so sorry, what did I miss?"

Lily started to list things on her fingers:

"Granny and Grandad made a little speech, we toasted them, they said it was past their bedtime and left the night to us young things…"

"Moony managed to pull Lily's sister and future sister-in-law…" Sirius contributed.

"Sirius managed to sign his own death-warrant…" Remus retorted.

"But the best thing is that you're here." James closed the window and shut out the rest of the party. "Lily and I have some news. We've been waiting all evening to tell you but we wanted all three of you to be here." He turned to Lily and took hold of her hand. "We're expecting our first child."

There was a collective whoop of joy followed by hugs and kisses and back-slapping.

"That's terrific news!" "Congratulations!" "Fantastic!"

"So when is James Sirius Remus Peter Potter due?" Sirius wanted to know.

"Who said it's a boy?" Lily wanted to know.

"Of course, it's going to be a boy," James scoffed. "And he'll be a brilliant Quidditch player and a first-rate wizard."

"In that order," Peter smiled.

"I hate to shatter your dreams, husband, but our baby is most definitely a little girl."

"Lily Potter, I heard you telling your parents you had no idea what sex the baby was."

"It is a girl," she insisted. "I told Mum and Dad we didn't know because otherwise Mum would want us to call her Marigold or Buttercup or something."

James snorted. "Until she arrives - end of January, Padfoot - and proves me wrong, I'm going to continue to in my firm belief that we are continuing the Potter line."

He threw a shrewd glance at Remus. "You're awfully quiet, Moony."

Remus's face flushed. "I was just thinking back to something Lily and I were talking about earlier this evening," he confessed. "About how love can conquer anything." He met Lily's eyes and she smiled back at him. "It really is fabulous news."

"Right," Sirius said decisively. "Let's go and celebrate in true Marauder style. There's a party out there with our name on it."

The evening eventually drew to a close. Peter was the first of them to leave, disappearing into a taxi headed for Diagon Alley and a room at the Leaky Cauldron.

Then, it was Sirius and Remus's turn as they stood at the top of the marble steps surveying the city below.

"London really never sleeps, does it?" Sirius marvelled, as people rushed past on the pavement below hurrying away from one party and on to another.

A black cab pulled up at the foot of the steps waiting for its next fare.

Sirius took this as their cue to depart, giving Lily and James a farewell hug.

"After you," Remus stood to one side to let Sirius descend first.

If Sirius had bothered to look, he would have seen Remus's mouth moving and a wand appear from nowhere down his right sleeve.

"Come on, Moony," he shouted over his shoulder.

There was a high-pitched squeal which froze him to the spot. He spun round in its general direction and disappeared under a wave of female attention. From nowhere, teenage girls, their mothers and their mothers' mothers swarmed over him like locusts over honey.

"You know, they always say you should watch out for the quiet ones," Lily looked on in amazement.

A wide grin had appeared on James's face: Sirius should know by now the risks of playing tricks on Remus. "What did you just do to him?"

Remus shrugged. "Small transfiguration spell."

He made his goodbyes and walked down the steps, carefully avoiding the human scrum. He climbed into the backseat of the waiting taxi, leaving the door open.

"Where to, guv'nor?" the driver asked.

Remus gave the name of their hotel and then said: "We'll just wait for a moment, if you don't mind."

A huge black dog leapt into the cab as if its life depended on it. Remus leaned past it and sharply closed the door.

"'Ere! No dogs allowed! He'll have to-" The driver spun round then stopped, puzzled. Where his rear view mirror had distinctly shown an unwanted canine, there was now a trembling young man, black hair plastered all over his face, with no jacket, a torn shirt and trousers and only one shoe.

"Drive on, please." Remus said calmly.

Sirius stared straight ahead, swallowing a couple of times. They had paid the cab and were in the hotel lift before he could speak.

"Tell me, Moony, who is…?" he said the name the crowd of women had been screaming.

"Some Muggle celebrity - film star, rock star, something…" Remus waved a dismissive hand. "Someone people fall in love with at first sight and get besotted about," he added, keeping his voice neutral.

Understanding washed over Sirius.

Remus opened the hotel bedroom door and ushered his friend in.

"You're bloody dangerous, you are!" Sirius said, recovering his composure. He loosened his bow-tie and pulled off his shirt, examining the rips and tears. "Some of those women had scissors, you know."

Remus studied the back of Sirius's head. Large chunks of hair had been cut away in a haphazard fashion.

"Really? Scissors?" he said mildly. He shut the door, smiling.

It was at least two minutes before he handed Sirius a mirror.

A/N OK, so the baby Lily's expecting is not Harry. This story was supposed to be a prelude to a much longer, darker (and as yet unwritten) tale where she loses this child and it is the catalyst for the break-up of the Marauders and all the ensuing suspicion and betrayal. It is a plot bunny the size of Harvey and it has been firmly nailed in its hutch at the moment!


End file.
